Windy Hill Orchard & Cidery Reviews

MicroGrog	2.8 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Pint on tap, right before Xmas @The Whale Outpost in Haw Creek, Asheville. Came here to peruse bottles, stayed a minute for this one. Clear, shiny, amber gold pour right to the lip. Smell was soda & candied ginger. Taste was a mellower, more basic bitch Canadian ginger ale with a very slight apple twang. Not spicy, too sweet & flabby. At least the carbonation was alright. Should of gotten a half pour, but I got excited about a SC cider tick. Cheers. Wednesday, January 4, 2023
MicroGrog	3.4 Windy Hill Hoppin Johnny 750ml from Appalachian. Stemless wine glass @home. Why is it so difficult to find a SC cider in NC? It's 1-2 grow/hardiness zones warmer just over the border. You can grow the same things in NYC as in Asheville, but it all gets a bit too warm 30 minutes south(or east). Cider pours out a clear, faint sizzle, somewhat unexpected, dark Lipton tea color. Macerated apples, lime-y, weak hops. Soft sweet, onion & grass scent. Very mild nose. Bittersweet, solid tartness, rind bitterness, tea, really quiet but fruity sweet onion hops. Thick, nearly flat, with just enough opposition to keep chugging. Very mild for a hopped cider. Old hops that sit in cider tend to get fruitier. Added sulfites didn't bother me. Okay. Sunday, September 5, 2021
Buzzinbeas83	3.5 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Smells great, sweet apple on the nose, a little spice too. Flavor is good on the entry, but comes up short going down. Lacks effervescence, so a little flat. Decent cider. Tuesday, October 22, 2019
crossovert	2.9 Windy Hill Revah Pomegranate 750ml green bottle. Reddish pour with some floaties, its an intensely sweer caramel appley beer, with some pomegranate molasses and a balancing sour finish. Sunday, January 13, 2019
HourGlass13	3 Windy Hill Pumpkin Pours up a clear golden color. Fizzy active carbonation. Apple and pumpkin aroma. Taste is tart and abrasive. There is some organic pumpkin here, with very little spice, and apple too. Definitely not as good as their other offerings. Sunday, October 28, 2018
hman43	3.8 Windy Hill Blueberry Got this at QCB festival in Charlotte. It is clear pale in color. There is strong blueberry flavors that are sweet with moderate carbonation. Sunday, February 4, 2018
BeerFred	4.4 Windy Hill Gala Peach Saturday, February 3, 2018
cubs	4.1 Windy Hill Gala Peach Bottle @ home from jcnielsen. This bottle is at least six months old, more likely 12 months old. With that in mind, it hasn’t lost anything on age. Bitingly acidic with a slight sweetness. Some notes of honey, caramel, lemons, and pulpy peaches. Not overbearingly fruity like a lot of micro ciders these days. The peaches are very complementary. Super drinkable. Not overly complex but altogether a really nice cider. Friday, December 1, 2017
HourGlass13	3.9 Windy Hill Blueberry Pours up a very clear golden color. Fizzy with active carbonation. Blueberry and apple aroma. Taste is sharp and tart blueberry with some apple. Very good stuff and mixes well with others. Nice. Sunday, August 13, 2017
Travlr	3.7 Windy Hill Blueberry Draft at Sauld. Clear golden color, bubbly. Apple aroma maybe blueberry. Taste is blueberry and apple. Easy drinking. Wednesday, August 9, 2017
cubs	3.8 Windy Hill Strawberry Pippin Bottle in Charlotte with jcnielsen. Somewhat cloudy yellow appearance with a white head. Aroma has tons of strawberries, a little vanilla, and some pear. Light tart, off dry, spritzy, and fantastic fruit notes. Well done! Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Travlr	3.7 Windy Hill Strawberry Pippin Draft. Cloudy yellow color, still berry aroma with apple. Taste is dry tart apple flesh with berries. Very tasty. Tuesday, May 16, 2017
cubs	3.4 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Bottle @ home, thanks to jcnielsen. Clear, light golden appearance with no head. Fairly tart, lots of spice, herbal, and juicy. Not super complex but quaffable. Easy to drink. Friday, January 6, 2017
jcnielsen	3.4 Windy Hill Strawberry Pippin Bottle picked up at the local Harris Teeter. Pours a golden color with white head. Fresh, tart strawberries, slight apple aromas. Strawberry, apple, tart juice flavors. Very sweet and tart and fruity cider. Fresh and fruity, but not my favorite of the windy hills. Wednesday, August 10, 2016
weihenweizen	3.6 Windy Hill Blueberry On tap at Pizza Peel. Clear golden with small white head. Aroma is nice blueberry, medium body, little carbonation, and very little lacing. Taste is of blueberries and apples. Enjoyable. Saturday, July 2, 2016
jcnielsen	3.6 Windy Hill Revah Pomegranate Bottle picked up at Windy Hill. Pours a reddish color with white head. Cherry, pomegranate, fruity aromas. Tart, cherry, slight sour cranberry flavors. A lot different than their other ciders. A tart cider, interesting. Tuesday, May 10, 2016
jcnielsen	3.3 Windy Hill Pumpkin On tap at Windy Hill Orchard. Pours a golden color with white head. Apple, pumpkin, spice flavors. Good, but not quite as good as their others. Sunday, May 8, 2016
jcnielsen	3.8 Windy Hill Spicy Ginger Peach On tap at Windy Hill Orchard. Pours a golden color with white head. Ginger, cinnamon peach aromas and flavors. So good! Sunday, May 8, 2016
jcnielsen	3.7 Windy Hill Blueberry On tap at Windy Hill Orchard. Pours a golden color with white head. Blueberry dominates with some apple in the flavors as well. Really good. Sunday, May 8, 2016
jcnielsen	3.2 Windy Hill Hoppin Johnny On tap at Windy Hill Orchard. Pours a golden color with white head. Apple, slight hop, citrus flavors. Not as good as the non hop ciders, one of my least favorite by then but still decent Sunday, May 8, 2016
Travlr	3.2 Windy Hill Gala Peach Draft at Birdsong. Clear golden color, light carbonation. Aroma is pure peach. Taste is similar. Simple and easy drinking. Sunday, May 8, 2016
jcnielsen	3.4 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider On tap at Sycamore Brewing. Pours a yellow color with white head. Apple, sweet, tart aromas and flavors. Good, but not as great as the Rusty Gold and Gala Peach. Tuesday, March 29, 2016
jcnielsen	3.7 Windy Hill Gala Peach On tap at Sycamore. Pours a clear light golden color with white head. Peach, fruity, sugary aromas. Sweet, peach, fruity flavors. Good stuff! Second killer cider from Windy Hill. Thursday, March 17, 2016
jcnielsen	3.9 Windy Hill Rusty Gold On tap at Birdsong. Pours a golden orange color with white head. Apple juice, cinnamon, nutmeg aromas and flavors. Really good and refreshing cider. One of my recent favorites. Monday, February 29, 2016
Zeswaft	3.5 Windy Hill Hoppin Johnny 750 bottle. Pours out like apple juice. Aroma of apples. Not too carbonated. Flavor is smooth. Slightly sweet but bot cloying. Finishes fairly dry. Not sure i pick up any hops. A very good cider for transitioning from the macro sweet to dry and funky. Saturday, January 23, 2016
Lubiere	3.5 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider A golden cider with aroma of smooth sweet apples, light mineral notes and maple, nice. In mouth, a nice sweet apple pulp with light incense, cloves, ginger, light acidity, well done. On tap at Revolution Ale House. Monday, December 28, 2015
CommodorePeter	4 Windy Hill Gala Peach I like this cider because of its crispness, almost no yeast tone. The aroma is peach, for obvious reasons, so perhaps it masks any others. Many cider drinkers may say this tastes medicinal for the same reason bourbon drinkers say Jack Daniels tastes medicinal (myself included). Since it lacks the carbonation of beers at this abv and it has natural acidity as a cider, its a good after dinner palate cleanser and kick off to another session for the rest of the evening. Thursday, November 19, 2015
Tyr	3 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Tyr	3 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Wednesday, May 27, 2015
BeerandBlues2	3.5 Windy Hill Revah Pomegranate Bottle at home. Pours cloudy ruby with a small and quickly receding white head. Aroma is heavy apples, light pomegranate notes, some berries, leaves, and cinnamon. Flavor is lightly tart apples and pomegranate, strawberries, lightly tart cranberry notes, sweet apples with a cinnamon character and a sweet finish. Light body and nearly still. Saturday, January 17, 2015
weihenweizen	3.5 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Clear pale golden with small white head. Aroma is ginger, medium body,, medium carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is malty ginger and some apple. Good stuff. Monday, August 4, 2014
maniac	3.5 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Bottle at the World Beer Festival - Columbia on 01/22/2011. Hazy pale orange body with a small white head. Sweet spice and apple aroma. Cinnamon, apple and spice flavor. Medium body with moderately high carbonation. Friday, September 13, 2013
Drake	3.6 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Draft at Pisgah as "Pisgah Spiced Cider," confirmed by the bartender that this is Windy Hill Rusty Gold. Pours a clear golden color with a thin fizzy head. Aroma of tart apples and lots of spices. Potpourri with an asian flair. The taste is tart apples and heavy spice, mainly cinnamon and clove. Medium bodied, lingering spice. Wednesday, September 11, 2013
maxwelldeux	3 Windy Hill Gala Peach Thursday, June 6, 2013
maxwelldeux	4.4 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Bottle. Pours a very clear light golden color with almost no head on it. Nose has a light bit of apples on there with just a hint of cinnamon. Great apple-cinnamon taste - perfect balance of the two flavors in a slightly sweet, but still crisp cider. One of the best ciders I’ve had. Wednesday, May 22, 2013
balancebeer	4.5 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider I found this cider to be exception in every way. It had tremendous balance, lovely flavors, and a long finish. I put this at the top of my domestic cider list. I was sad when the bottle was empty. Luckily for me I will be carrying the cider in my store very soon. The only cider that I have enjoyed more is the stuff from Eric Bordelet. Friday, April 5, 2013
magsinva	4.1 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Bottle from Bestway Greensburo - pours Clear pale gold with a rim of white from the light carbonation. Aroma is cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and apples, nicely balanced. Taste is sweet, but again, balanced, so you don’t end up with a gross sticky sweet film in your mouth like some ciders. Finish has a nice bite that gives it some interest with each swallow. Very nice! Saturday, March 16, 2013
DiarmaidBHK	4.2 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Bottle from bestway. Pours golden with an inch of white foam. Nice apple pie notes on the nose. Has a thicker mouthfeel than I expected. In addition to apple I got a lot of the cinnamon and the nutmeg. This has a ton of complexity on the tongue. Clean finish. Very nice! Saturday, March 16, 2013
blutt59	2.8 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider on tap, clear silver golden pour, no legs or foam, aroma of ginger, apple, flavor is ginger and medicinal or chemical, apple core, dry finish Monday, January 21, 2013
geologyguy	4.4 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Only had 2oz worth at world beer festival January 2013 Columbia,SC,, cinnamon apple taste...WONDERFUL!! Monday, January 21, 2013
geologyguy	4.1 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Only had 2oz worth at world beer festival January 2013 Columbia,SC, sweet ale and cider but very slightly poor aftertaste Monday, January 21, 2013
blutt59	3.7 Windy Hill Rusty Gold On tap, golden colored pour with still head, cinnamon apple pie filling stands out with tart apple finish, warming Sunday, January 20, 2013
raradel	3.4 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Weak on the look and nose but really nice balance on the flavor and palate. Really good cider, go SC! Friday, January 11, 2013
Travlr	3.7 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Bottle. Clear golden color, champagne head with lots of bubbles. Aroma of dried red apple skins. Taste is subtle fruit, nicely crisp and dry. Monday, December 31, 2012
Travlr	3.6 Windy Hill Rusty Gold Bottle. Clear gold with bubbles. Aroma of lightly spiced apple pie. Taste is sweet apple pie. Nice. Sunday, December 30, 2012
Drake	3.4 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider 750 mL bottle courtesy of manic at the 14th Richmond Ratebeer Gathering, 3/19/11. Pours a clear pale golden color. A thin head quickly fades. Sweet slightly tart apple aroma. The taste is tart grainy apples with a sweet finish. Medium bodied. Nice. Saturday, August 6, 2011
maniac	3.8 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Bottle at the World Beer Festival Columbia Brewers Party on 01/21/2011. Clear light golden body with a small fizzy white head. Sweet tart apple and light vanilla aroma. Tart apple flavor with some vanilla and sugar hints. Medium body with high carbonation. Tuesday, July 12, 2011
BeerandBlues2	3.6 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Bottle shared at 14th Richmond gathering by maniac (3/22/11) and re-rated at home (4/19/14). Pours sparkling gold with a small, fizzy white head, short retention, effervescent with rising large bubbles. Aroma is ginger, apple, honey, and straw. Flavor is green apple, ginger, and biscuit. Light body and carbonation, low warmth, and sweet texture with a dry finish. This is quite a nice cider, light and refreshing. Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Butters	3.4 Windy Hill Ginger Gold Apple Cider Very unique. Kinda like sprite. Ginger beer. Honey, apple cider. Very interesting. Don’t know if I like it or not though. but very unique. Monday, January 31, 2011